Situating Toronto's Former-Yugoslav Immigrants in The

Ruptures in Canada’s Nationalist Narrative: Situating Toronto’s Former-Yugoslav Immigrants in the Indigenous-Settler Context by Stefan Jovanovic a thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Public Issues Anthropology Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2017 © Stefan Jovanovic 2017 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION: I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public ii ABSTRACT: With the increasing prevalence of Indigenous discourses in the public consciousness, it becomes clear that the role of immigrants in the Indigenous-Settler dynamic has yet to be understood, and is particularly understudied in its Canadian context. However, given that nearly half of the population in the City of Toronto is composed of immigrants, it presents a rich research opportunity. As a Toronto-based immigrant from Former-Yugoslavia, I decided to conduct research with my own community. This thesis investigates the positionality of the Greater Toronto Area’s (GTA) Former-Yugoslav immigrants in the context of Indigenous-Settler relations. My research suggests that this community is situated within two ruptures of the Canadian nationalist narrative – paradoxical realms of multiple co-occurring imaginaries. As displaced peoples, they are privileged beneficiaries of the Canadian state while simultaneously being denied access to the Whiteness of the Canadian-Canadian ethnic identity. The ruptures are exposed by the relational positionality of Indigenous peoples to Former-Yugoslavs; in other words, Indigenous peoples play a central role in the identity of the GTA’s Former-Yugoslav immigrants. The very existence of Indigenous peoples in Canada shatters the illusion of inclusivity in the multiculturalist narrative by exposing (1) the rupture of injustices acted upon Indigenous peoples by the Canadian state, which maintains its marginalization of these communities via multiculturalism; and (2) the rupture of the relational nature of Whiteness by challenging it as a monolithic identifier of ethno-racial categorization in favour of pluralistic forms of identity. Thus, Former-Yugoslav immigrants are Settlers who have potential for solidarity with Indigenous peoples. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I reserve my highest gratitude for my supervisor Seçil Dağtaş whose direction and patience have shaped the success of this research project. I would like to thank my co-supervisor Jasmin Habib for her meaningful contributions to this project, as well as my committee member Jennifer Liu. I would also like to thank my graduate cohort for their support throughout our time together. Finally, I express gratitude to my interlocutors for sharing their lived experiences with me. iv Dedicated to the pursuit of informed action. v TABLE OF CONENTS: AUTHOR’S DECLARATION........................................ii ABSTRACT....................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...............................................iv DEDICATIONS...............................................................v CHAPTER 1.....................................................................1 CHAPTER 2...................................................................10 REFERENCES...............................................................36 vi Chapter 1: Introduction Public anthropology has recently become popular for many sociocultural anthropologists. Its importance stems from growing desires for activism, and from the way that its contributions have reshaped the relevancy of anthropology to the non-academic world (Rylko-Baur, Singer, and van Willigan 2006:185).1 Traditionally, two of anthropology’s greatest strengths are in understanding marginalized narratives through ethnographic techniques (McGranahan 2006:263), and in giving voice to those who have none (Fassin 2013:223). However, in addressing public issues, anthropologists must also strive in exposing the dynamics of hegemony by “studying up” (Mosse 2005, 2006) and ‘studying through’ rather than only ‘studying down’. Adopting a public issues approach to anthropology is well suited for investigating the role that immigrants in Canada play in Indigenous-Settler discourse. Indigenous peoples are considered by some intellectuals to be one of the three foundational peoples of Canada (Saul 2008:21). However, the past ~200 years have seen turbulence (at best) in relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous publics. In recent years, Indigenous groups across Canada have formed resistance movements that seek to peacefully assert Indigenous sovereignty through decolonization - the most prominent being the Idle No More movement. While a continuous dialogue exists regarding the tension between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, the diverse roles immigrant communities play in the Indigenous-Settler dynamic is unclear. Consequently, an opportunity arises for the systematic study of immigrant populations on a community-basis to determine their understanding and perceptions of Indigenous peoples, and to determine their positionality in the Indigenous-Settler 1 Robert Borofsky, “Defining Public Anthropology”, Centre for a Public Anthropology, May 11, 2011. < http://www.publicanthropology.org/public-anthropology/> 1 context. The primary purpose of this research is to “situate” such knowledges (Haraway 1988) in the case of Former-Yugoslav migrants in the Greater Toronto Area through ethnographic investigation. In addressing a public issue, this research will gauge the potential for solidarity among the Former-Yugoslav immigrants with Indigenous peoples in Canada, providing a template for future research with other migrant or marginalized communities. Chapter 1 will define the ways that this research is a public issue by highlighting its relevance to public discourse. First, I will briefly contextualize the positionality of Indigenous peoples in relation to immigrants in the Canadian national narrative.2 Next, I will describe some of the prevalent stereotypes of Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island (North America), providing examples of those that my Former-Yugoslav interlocutors have internalized. Finally, through the analysis of two public cases, I will demonstrate the consequences of stereotypes when they are internalized by various publics. This chapter will conclude with a discussion on the most suitable venues for the publication of Chapter 2, which more concretely explores the positionality of Former-Yugoslav migrants in the Indigenous-Settler context of Canada. Indigenous Positionality Since Canada’s inception as a nation-state, it has disadvantaged the Indigenous peoples who live within its modern borders. Its early nationalist narrative was constructed using the prevalent racial theories of the 1800s (Mackey 1999). This narrative defined Canadian identity by the central racial category of Northern-Whiteness and its perceived superiority over Indigenous peoples (Mackey 1999). The resulting racialization of Indigenous peoples as the 2 For a more comprehensive discussion on Indigenous and immigrant positionality, please refer to Chapter 2. 2 Savage ‘other’ justified their elimination through displacement, contamination, and extermination (Day 1998:43). In pursuit of colonial expansion Northwestwardly from the earlier colonies of Ontario, Québec, and Acadia, Settler-colonists relied on large-scale immigration to populate the colonial frontier (Day 1998:43). These immigrants were classified according to racial hierarchies in relation to White Anglo-Saxons (Day 1998: 52). The tension between White superiority and the diversity of newer immigrants have ultimately complicated Canadian identity with the paradoxical addition of multiculturalism, which simultaneously racializes and integrates immigrants (Day 1998, 2000). Liberal multiculturalist ideology has ensured the continued marginalization and displacement of Indigenous peoples in Canada, whose claims to sovereignty were continually undermined by its underlying racially colourblind rhetoric (Byrd 2011:xix; Saranillio 2013:281). Subsequent failed attempts were made by the Canadian state to mend the rupture in the Canadian nationalist narrative created by its exclusion of Indigenous peoples. These attempts included human rights violations such as the assimilatory residential schools, the so-called ‘60s scoop’, and the infamous White Papers that sought to legally disenfranchise Indigenous people. These policies and initiatives resulted in what Day and Sadik (2002:5) describe as the embodiment of two contradictory positionalities for Indigenous peoples in Canadian media: (1) as racialized ‘Indians’ who burden Canadian society; and (2) as disadvantaged members of Canadian society. Sadik’s binary can be further complicated by considering the diversity of stereotypes which together construct the perceptions that new and old Canadians hold of Indigenous peoples. Some of these stereotypes have been documented in my discussions with my Former-Yugoslav interlocutors living in the Greater Toronto Area. 3 Stereotypes among Former-Yugoslavs In his book The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America, King (2012:53) identifies three Indian stereotypes that are prevalent in North America.3 These include: (1) the “Dead Indian”, based on the notion that Indigenous peoples have disappeared from North America

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